


Little Slices of Love

by Ninja_Librarian



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Babies!, F/M, First part is Pre-Kerberos, Lots and lots of kisses!, Proposals, Second is in-canon timeframe, Set in canon but not canon, Shidge Valentine's Exchange 2018, Third is post-canon, Weddings, canon? i don't know her, kisses!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-12 07:58:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13543083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ninja_Librarian/pseuds/Ninja_Librarian
Summary: For Pidge and Shiro, a kiss is never just a kiss. It is a sharing of the heart, a connecting of the dots. It is giving the other a little slice of love.A series of kisses shared between one Takashi Shirogane and one Katie Holt, ranging from the utmost importance to the everyday and ordinary.





	1. Takashi and Katie

**Author's Note:**

  * For [disgustingshidge](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=disgustingshidge).



> Happy Shidgentine's Day, Dana!
> 
> Your gift is in three parts, because it kind of took on a mind of its own. Anyways, here is the first part and I hope you like it!

The first kiss they shared was two years before Voltron, a year before the crew of the Kerberos mission disappeared. A time where they weren’t the Black Paladin and the Green Paladin, or Shiro and Pidge. They were just Takashi and Katie; he was her brother’s roommate, and she was his roommate’s genius little sister a year and a half their junior.

By then, Takashi was a frequent guest in the Holt house. By then, it was quite obvious to everyone but the two in question that there was crushing and mutual pining taking place.

Katie had been hesitant, biting her lip, rolling on her feet from heel to toes all day. Matt and Takashi were getting ready to head back to the Garrison campus, loading their bags into the car. Then, shyly, Katie gestured to Takashi to bend down to accommodate her small stature.

His face burnt red long after her lips left his cheek, his brain mush as she dashed back into the house without another word, Matt snickering at the both of them.

*****

The next kiss they shared came only a few weeks later, as guests at the Garrison Christmas party, where families of the instructors came and mingled with the older students.

They were both certain that it was Matt’s fault that there was mistletoe, and that they got caught under it. He was definitely responsible for the wolf whistles and his classmates all teasing him to just kiss the girl already.

Once more with his face the color of a ripe tomato, Takashi bent down and pressed a kiss to Katie’s cheek.

It was awkward, doing this with so many people watching and telling them what to do, but she didn’t protest, her own cheeks red as she smiled back at him faintly.

“Want to get back at them?” She whispered, too softly for Matt and their crew of buddies to hear.

Takashi grinned. They hadn’t been the only victims of this little prank, and they were determined to be the last. “What do you have in mind?”

They both watched with glee as Matt and Commander Iverson _somehow_ ended up under the mistletoe together, even though it hadn’t been there only a second before. They bumped fists as Matt had to figure out the best way to give his commanding officer a kiss.

All of the mistletoe was mysteriously found in the trashcan after that.

*****

There was a buzz of excitement in the air, and Takashi’s heart was pounding as he found his place beside Katie, offering her a champagne glass full of sparkling cider, which she accepted.

“Hey, um, Katie?” He said, voice a bit shaky as everyone’s attention was on the television screen, waiting for the countdown. “I, uh… The year’s almost over.”

“Yeah, we’ve got about a minute left of it,” Katie said, showing him the dainty gold wristwatch she wore, which he knew contained much more than it appeared, thanks to her technical prowess.

“Right,” Takashi said. “And… There’s one thing I didn’t do this year, that I promised myself I would.”

“For your sake, I hope it’s nothing big like, I don’t know, forge your own sword or master the German language or something,” Katie teased.

“Well,” Takashi said, aware that his cheeks were pink. “Um, Katie Holt, I was…”

“It’s starting!” Someone yelled.

“TEN! NINE!” The entire room started chanting the countdown, but Katie’s attention was solely on him.

Taking a deep breath, he got out “Katie Holt, will you go on a date with me!”

She blinked, looking stunned. Then as the ball dropped down to five, she smiled.

“I’ve been waiting all year for you to ask me that,” She told him.

“ONE! HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

There was cheering and bottles popping. Smiling, Takashi raised his glass towards Katie, who clinked her glass to his. They each took a sip, then Katie said,

“Hey, Takashi? I’ve got a New Year’s resolution, and I think you can help me with it.”

“Oh yeah?” Takashi said. “What is it?”

She grinned. “My New Year’s resolution is to kiss you.”

His smile grew. “I think I can help you with that.”

He leaned down as she rose up on her toes, meeting in the middle, lips meeting.

It was a short kiss, longer than a peck but no make-out session.

But it was their first, and it was perfect.

*****

Their first date was two days later, and Katie was certain that it was the best day of her life.

Everything had been so perfect. Well, once they were actually on the date, that is. And she often wondered if the day was more traumatic for Takashi.

Takashi was clearly nervous, but polite. He arrived at her house nearly fifteen minutes early, but according to her mother he spent five minutes in the driveway, apparently opening and closing the car door a few times before getting enough courage to head up to the front door, then took another few times getting halfway there then turning back only to turn back around once more to start the process over.

Katie caught a glimpse of this from her bedroom window, and thought it was cute and endearing.

She tried to beat him to the door, but Matt way-laid her at the landing of the stairs, which she realized must have been planned because she could only stand on her toes and hope Takashi saw the _I’m-sorry_ look on her face as her father led him into the kitchen for ‘a little chat’.

Now, she knew for a fact that her father loved Takashi. Had more than once said out-loud that he considered Takashi a second son, joked about how nice it was to have the whole family together when Shiro visited with Matt. Katie also knew that Commander Samuel Holt was secretly elated that he had asked Katie out, even if he didn’t say so out-loud.

Because Katie was still his baby girl. And he was going to put the fear of God into Takashi Shirogane before the poor boy could take her anywhere.

Matt, too—for all of his badgering her to just ask him out already and quit the stupid pining, as well as his mistletoe stunt a few weeks prior—seemed to be enjoying the tormenting of Takashi in the role of protective older brother. Which Katie found ironic, considering when they were kids she was the one who came home with bloody fists and torn dresses from beating up Matt’s bullies.

Katie could only watch as Takashi emerged from the kitchen and the ‘little chat’ with her father, looking pale and looking slightly ill. She could only stew and give her mother looks, begging for her intervention. Fortunately for Takashi and Katie—but more so Takashi—she did, ordering Matt to go do the dishes and reminded Sam about the garage he was supposed to have cleaned two months ago.

“You two have fun!” Colleen said, shooing Katie and Takashi out of the house.

The car ride was silent, other than Katie’s attempts to apologize and Takashi’s hasty assurances that she had no need to do so. From there, though, everything was wonderful. They went to lunch, which was enjoyable, especially since it gave them both an opportunity to relax a little bit and laugh as they talked. He asked her about her robotics and coding projects, and she asked about his upcoming semester at the Garrison.

And, of course, they both talked about the Kerberos expedition, the one her father would be leading and announcing his crew in a few weeks’ time. She had known that Takashi and the other pilots had undergone grueling simulations and written exams in hopes of being the selected pilot for the mission.

“Even after today, you’d want to spend nearly a year in space with my dad?” Katie asked teasingly.

Takashi just smiled sheepishly and said, “Yeah. I mean, it’s never been done before, going that far… I’d take the opportunity even if I was told that the catch was that Iverson was going, too, and we had to share a bunk. It’d be an honor to be selected. And, besides, your dad is awesome—even if he scared the crap out of me this morning…”

“Do I want to know?”

“I think it’s the usual dad shovel talk. You know, the ‘you break her heart, I break your legs and maybe a vital organ or two’ sort of thing.” Takashi insisted. “I don’t think it’d have been that bad if I wasn’t already a nervous wreck.”

“What, you were nervous?” Katie said in feigned amazement, as if she hadn’t seen him pace between her house and his car.

“Yeah, well,” Takashi said, shifting slightly, a light blush over his cheeks. “I’ve never… Well, never been on a date, so I was nervous. Was and still am totally afraid I’d screw up.”

Katie smiled at him. “Well, I think you’re doing a great job and definitely doubt you’ll screw up.”

Takashi’s smile grew and the color in his cheeks darkened.

After that, they went to the science museum, where there was an exhibit with retired Mars rovers and other space exploration equipment. Katie loved this, not only because it was full of some of her favorite things that she was seeing up close with one of her favorite persons, but because Takashi had remembered that she had wanted to go see the exhibit ever since it was announced.

Yes, they were nerds, so what? The date was perfect.

“I had a great time,” Katie told Takashi as he walked her to the door.

“I’m glad,” He told her. He shifted from foot to foot nervously and asked, “Um, Katie? Could I… Could I kiss you good-night?”

“It’s five o’clock in the afternoon.” Katie pointed out, giving him a teasing smile.

“Well, saying ‘kiss good-bye’ sounds… I don’t like the sound of it, sounds too final,” Takashi said, his cheeks red.

She grabbed his hand, smile growing. “I’m messing with you. Yes, you can have a kiss.”

“On… On the lips? Is that okay?” Takashi stuttered out.

“Yes!” Katie said, then kicking herself at how overly enthusiastic she sounded. _Jeez, Katie, play it cool._ “I mean, yes. Totally okay. We’ve done it before, anyways.”

“Just checking…”

Man, could he get any more perfect?

Takashi looked a little relieved at that. Katie rose onto her toes expectantly, eyes closed, and barely heard the sound of the curtains being drawn back behind her and hardly noticed how Takashi stiffened.

She waited, and panicked, because Takashi wasn’t kissing her. Why wasn’t he kissing her? Did she do something wrong, say something wrong? Oh, God, did he suddenly realize that she wasn’t good enough for him or something? Did he change his mind and want to just be friends? Did her breath stink? Was she a bad kisser? Did—?

Finally, to her relief, she felt his warm breath against her skin, but not his lips. He got close to her lips once, then backed up, then got close again, then backed up again…

Then, to her surprise, she was given a kiss on the cheek.

What the heck?

Did he seriously just chicken out?

She opened her eyes and saw how red Takashi’s cheeks were. Her brow furrowed and she opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong…

And the front door flew open.

“Ah, good, right on time,” Her father said, grinning a bit smugly. “Thank you, Cadet Shirogane, for seeing her to the door.”

Flustered, Takashi ended up standing at attention and saluting her father.

_Oh,_ Katie thought, narrowing her eyes at her father. Now she knew why she got the most awkward kiss in the history of kisses…

Because her father, his commanding officer, was watching them the whole time.

“Well, now that you two have said your good-nights, you should get on inside, Katie-bug. Cadet Shirogane, I shall see you on Monday morning.” Commander Holt said, smile growing smugger. From inside the house, she could hear Matt chortle with glee.

_Two can play at this game,_ Katie thought.

“Sure thing, Daddy!” Katie said sweetly. “Just, one thing first!”

Then, with Takashi still frozen in place, she stood on her toes and grabbed him by his coat, pulling him down towards her in a kiss.

She released him and smiled. “Call me when you get back to the dorms.” She told him. “And tell me when your next free weekend is. It’s my turn to plan a date.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her father’s stunned but impressed expression. Matt had quickly sobered up inside.

Takashi blinked, still stunned but recovering much faster than her father and brother, and smiled. “I look forward to it.”

He gave her another kiss on the cheek, this one with more purpose and less awkwardness.

Commander Holt and Matt spent the rest of the evening visibly displeased. Colleen couldn’t stop laughing at their faces.

Katie, however, was full of pride and glee.

She got her kiss, in the end, and that was all that mattered.

*****

For all intents and purposes, Katie wasn’t supposed to be on Garrison property.

In later years, she would reflect that that statement was more or less the story of her life.

But the Garrison secretary knew her as Commander Holt’s sweet little daughter, and all she had to do was bat her eyelashes and say that she was only there to bring her father food while he put in extra hours grading tests.

It was all too easy. She had to credit her shortness for being a crucial part of this plan. She hated being nearly sixteen and strangers thinking she was closer to eleven. But in this case, it helped her get in and set up the surprise she had in store for her boyfriend.

It was Valentine’s Day, her first having a boyfriend, and since he wouldn’t be able to get off of Galaxy Garrison property for another week, she was going to take the initiative and surprise him.

Matt was the only one who knew of the plan, and only to keep him away from his own dorm room for a few hours and to get him to shoo Takashi her way. It involved quite a bit of bribery, but it was worth it to see the expression on her boyfriend’s face.

“Happy Valentine’s Day!” Katie exclaimed from the floor, where she had set up a romantic picnic for two.

“Katie, what, I can’t believe—” Takashi said, grinning. She leapt to her feet and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him fiercely. He held her close, muttering into her shoulder, “I can’t believe you’re here… I’ve missed you so much…”

“You saw me last weekend. And we video-chatted last night.” Katie laughed, kissing him again.

“Not the same,” Takashi said, giving her another kiss on the lips.

Katie giggled as they kissed, rapid little pecks.

She wasn’t sure how it happened, ending up on Takashi’s bed, him beneath her, her legs straddling his hips, his hands in her hair as her thumb brushed back and forth over the buzz of his undercut, her other hand wrinkling his uniform shirt in her fist.

By now, they had kissed dozens of times. But this was a lot more intense, the kisses beginning at a fast—passionate, almost desperate, uncoordinated—pace then slowing into a deeper, relaxed pace. Finally, they slowed until they both needed to catch their breath, and she rested her head on his chest, listening to the thud of Takashi’s heartbeat.

“I love you.”

Katie blinked at the words, and looked up at him in shock and confusion.

That… That had to be the post-make-out-session adrenaline in him talking, right?

But Takashi just smiled that easy-going smile, the one that he had when he was completely comfortable, the one that made her heart skip a beat and all the rational parts of her brain go to mush.

“I know what you’re thinking,” He told her, running his thumb along her cheekbone. “And I mean it. I love you.”

“We haven’t… We haven’t even been dating for that long,” Katie muttered.

“I know what I like. And what I love.”

“You also love the crappy mac-n-cheese in the Garrison cafeteria and wear Crocs un-ironically. Wait,” Katie frowned. “Then what does that say about me?”

“I’m just going to go ahead and say again that I meant it,” Takashi said with a shrug. “I love you, Katie Holt.” He hesitated, then, “Um, did I just make things awkward between us?”

“No,” Katie told him, shaking her head. She gave him a smile. “You’ve got unique taste, Takashi Shirogane. Mac-n-cheese that is more red and yellow food coloring than it is cheese, ugly shoes, the weird nerdy girl who gets along better with robots and computers than she does human beings…”

“Like I said, I know what I love.”

Katie grinned up at him. “And so do I. Tall, scrawny, nerdy dorks who can make this ugly shade of Galaxy Garrison orange look good.”

“Sounds familiar, have I met this guy?”

Katie rolled her eyes and laughed, sitting up. “Come on, Mr. Tall, Scrawny and Dorky. Let’s eat; we don’t have that much time left before I’ve got to go.”

*****

Katie blinked back tears as she clapped her hands as her father left the podium. 

The ballroom was beautiful, the food was exquisite, the music full of emotion, the women all around her wore beautiful dresses and all the men looked handsome in their dress uniforms.

Everyone here and everything was arranged was for one thing: the Kerberos mission announcement.

Her father had chosen a small crew, even smaller than typical due to concerns regarding supplies. It was a three man mission.

Her father, Commander Samuel Holt, as lead science officer and engineer.

Her brother, Cadet Matthew Holt, as communications officer and junior science officer.

And the pilot, Takashi Shirogane…

She couldn’t be upset. She knew how hard Takashi had worked for this. It was an honor.

But now three of the people closest to her heart would be gone for over a year.

She would miss them, obviously. She couldn’t be selfish, and chided herself for secretly wishing that the entire mission would just be canceled for no particular reason whatsoever.

No, maybe that wasn’t what she was really secretly wishing for.

She wished she could go, too.

“Hey.”

She turned in surprise, then smiled and relaxed at seeing her boyfriend.

“Hey,” She said. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” Takashi said. He was grinning widely, and practically bouncing. 

He was so excited, how could she be upset?

Everything would be okay. After all, they were already making the long-distance relationship thing work, even if it was only across town and involved navigating the Garrison’s strict curfews and schedules.

Besides, it wasn’t like he was never coming back.

Takashi extended his hand to her as the ensemble began a new piece. “May I have this dance, Miss Holt?”

Katie smiled, taking his hand. “I would be delighted, Mr. Shirogane.”

Takashi led her to the dancefloor, where they got into position, still holding hands on one side as he put his other hand on her waist and she put her hand on his shoulder.

They waltzed and twirled and flowed with the music.

In the span of a single song, nothing else mattered. School didn’t matter, the future didn’t matter, the Kerberos mission didn’t matter.

For a small piece in the ever-flowing, ever-expanding space of time, all that mattered was that they were together. They had each other. They would always have each other, and their love.

But their time came to a close all too soon. The music ended and the dancers applauded the musicians. But Katie just kept staring into Takashi’s gray eyes and all of the sincerity they held, all the love they held, all the strength and determination and loyalty.

Her hand was still in his, and he lifted it, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand. So small compared to all of the other kisses they had shared, but no less meaningful, no less loving.

Surrounded by dozens of people with excitement in the air, the moment was still theirs.

If only it could have lasted forever.

*****

The next few weeks were a bit of a blur, a combination of excitement and mind-numbing meetings and lists and test runs and tensions running high and rushing from place to place constantly.

Of course, there were the moments of calm, which were the scarier moments for Takashi, because those were the moments everything—every fear, every worry—washed over him. It was worst when he was alone, especially alone at night, left alone in the dark to try and sleep and have his brain not concoct a thousand and one nightmares of everything that could go wrong between Earth and Kerberos and back.

He felt like he couldn’t tell anyone; not his parents, not his siblings, not the Commander or another instructor, not Matt, not any of his friends, and certainly not Katie.

Still, he couldn’t shake this feeling. A weird feeling, perhaps not bad but definitely did not bode well.

He tried to chock it up to nerves.

He took every distraction he could find.

Fortunately, Katie was very good at being a distraction.

He was walking down the hall along with Matt and two other cadets, onto the next meeting when he saw Katie out of the corner of his eye, dressed in jeans and a green tunic dress, her hair swaying slightly in the ponytail she wore, her eyes sparkling with mischief, putting a finger to her lips before beckoning him.

“Uh, I’ll meet up with you guys in a minute,” Takashi said quickly.

“Don’t take too long, Shiro,” Matt said. “You know how Iverson gets crankier than usual when things don’t get started on time.”

“Yeah,” Takashi mumbled, already slipping way, watching as the end of Katie’s ponytail flickered, a further call to follow her.

She grabbed his hands the moment he turned the corner, pulling him close. She smirked and whispered, “Surprise!”

He grinned at her, putting his hands on her hips. “You’re the best thing I’ve seen all day.”

“I know I am,” Katie said, throwing her arms around his neck, her smirk growing.

“You’re so humble.”

“And modest, too.”

Takashi laughed softly. He leaned down towards her, whispering. “Classes are going to let out in a few minutes, and I’ve got to go to a meeting, so if we’re going to kiss, we need to do so now.”

“What?” Katie teased, mouth curving into the Cheshire Cat grin that she shared with her brother and father. “You don’t want to get caught, _Shiro_?”

He blinked in surprise at the nickname, then realized she heard it come out of Matt’s mouth only moments before. He quickly recovered, though. “Of course I don’t want to get caught. Just because I’m the Kerberos pilot doesn’t mean I can’t still be given detention or worse.”

“Hmm, then, yes, we better do this quick,” Katie said, slipping her hands underneath his shirt enough to tug on his belt playfully, pulling him closer to her, as if he needed further encouragement. “Don’t want to sully that squeaky-clean record of yours.”

Kissing Katie—knowing that any second now they could be found, torn between hoping they were caught and that they weren’t, just even seeing her when he wasn’t expecting it—was perfect. All his kisses with Katie were perfect.

But he liked this one, of hiding in a Garrison hallway, sneaking kisses when they both had things to do and places to go, giggling and feeling like small children trying to hide with pilfered cookies.

It made him relax about everything else.

They both groaned as Takashi’s communication device beeped. Takashi pulled it out of his pocket, glaring at the screen 

“Matt’s telling me to get a move on,” Takashi told Katie.

Matt’s actual message contained a few more expletives, not that he was going to repeat those anytime soon.

“Ugh, of course it’s Matt,” Katie said, rolling her eyes. She rose on her toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Go on, before Iverson has an aneurism.”

“Will I see you again?” The words were out of his mouth before he realized how sad and cliché he sounded.

Katie grinned again. “Yeah, but you need to act surprised when you see me at Dad’s office after your meeting.”

“Ditching P.E. again?”

“And history,” Katie said nonchalantly. “But technically I’m in the nurses office with a terrible headache. At least, that’s what the school records say now.”

“You’re so devious.”

“You like it.”

“I do, I really do.”

The device in Takashi’s hand beeped again, full of more expletives and urgency.

“All right, I’ve really got to go now,” Takashi said, giving Katie a kiss on the forehead. 

She nodded, then her eyes widened slightly. “Oh. One more thing. Why did Matt call you ‘Shiro’?”

“I got tired of the professors butchering my family name very early on,” Takashi explained with a shrug. “The professors have a much easier time pronouncing ‘Shiro’ than ‘Shirogane’, and it’s kind of stuck with the other students.”

“Shiro,” Katie repeated slowly, tasting it. She smiled. “I like it. Mind if I use it, too, from time to time?”

“Of course you can,” Takashi said. He didn’t see a reason why not to.

“Then I’ll see you later, Shiro,” Katie said, waving him off to his meeting.

He walked away, his heart feeling light and at ease for the first time in weeks.

*****

The fair was their last dates together before lift-off, and both were determined to make it their best one yet. There were roller-coasters and Ferris wheels to be ridden, funnel cake and candy apples to be eaten, game to be played and prizes to be won, and bunnies to pet and goats to be fed.

The most important part was having fun and being together, and that was all that mattered. But by the end of the afternoon, they were both exhausted but happy as they walked towards the gates to head back to the car.

They were talking about which of the offered fried foods sounds the most ridiculous when Katie cut herself off mid-sentence with an excited gasp

“Ooh, Shiro, look!” Katie said, pointing at the large metal box with a thick black curtain. “A photo booth!”

“You want to go take some hands-free selfies?” Shiro teased, grinning at her.

“We should, to commemorate our first trip to the fair.”

“Like baby’s first Christmas but way more important?

“Now, Shiro, this is one of the reasons I love you, you totally get my logic.”

Shiro grinned, his heart warming at hearing her affirmation of love for him. She had been doing that a lot lately; he had, too. The times they would be able to talk were soon to be scarce, let alone say three simple words that meant so much.

He suspected Katie had another reason for wanting to do the photo booth.

After all, it was one of the last pictures they would take together for a long time.

They read that the booth would take five photos and give them two copies, and they quickly decided what shots they wanted. One normal, followed by three silly ones. And for the last…

“Can we kiss?” Shiro asked.

If he was going to be without her for a long time in space, he needed to have something of her. A kiss he could carry with him.

Katie simply smiled—a bit sadly, he noted—and nodded. “I like that idea.”

They slipped into the booth together, Shiro pulling the curtain to sequester them inside as Katie fed coins into the slot.

Shiro wrapped his arm around Katie as they smiled for the camera.

Flash.

They both grinned as they gave each other bunny ears.

Flash.

Katie held her hand up, fingers curved. “Shiro, finish the heart!”

He grinned and mimicked her hand gesture, touching his fingers to hers.

Flash.

Shiro couldn’t help but laugh as Katie then held up both hands, her fingers curved into claws, trying to look fierce.

His Katie, as fierce as a kitten.

_Well,_ he amended as the flash faded. _Maybe more like a lion cub…_

He wondered why his brain made that comparison.

She smiled up at him, her hands lowering. He caught her hand in the process, squeezing it.

Both giggling slightly, they closed in for the kiss.

Flash.

Life did have a tendency to flash before your eyes…

*****

So. This was it.

Shiro swallowed the lump in his throat, glancing up at the shuttlecraft that he would be piloting in less than an hour.

Like the Commander and Matt, he was already wearing his spacesuit, saying their final farewells to their friends and family. He had already seen his parents and siblings, his friends, and Keith the kid he mentored at the Garrison.

There was just one person he hadn’t said good-bye to yet.

Granted, that was because she was saying her own good-byes to her father and brother.

“Shiro?”

He turned at seeing Katie, the skirt of her favorite lavender dress rustling slightly in the wind, her hair blowing behind her, partially held back by a headband.

“Katie,” He whispered.

She blinked back tears. If the tears were because of the wind or their impending separation, he did not know, and he didn’t want to know.

He just didn’t want her to cry.

She closed the distance between them, taking a shaky first step that quickly turned into a run, that ended with her flinging her arms around his neck.

He held her to him for what felt like hours, and then she lifted her head, pressing her lips to his. That kiss… That kiss lasted a small eternity.

Too small of an eternity.

He lowered her to the ground after forever ended.

“I’ll miss you.”

He wasn’t sure if he said it first or if she did, or if they said it together.

“Come home soon,” Katie whispered to him as she gave him a final hug.

“I’ll be back so soon, you’ll barely have time to miss me.” Shiro whispered into her ear.

*****

“You were wrong, by the way,” Katie said with a smile, leaning her elbows on the desk in front of her. “I miss you, and you’re not back.”

Shiro smiled sheepishly on the other side of the screen. “I miss you, too. But I’ll be back before you know it? I mean, unless this was all an elaborate scheme by your dad to leave me on Pluto in an effort to keep me as far away from you as possible.”

“If that’s the case, then I guess I’ll just have to come and rescue you,” Katie said, her smile growing. “My fair dude-sel in distress.”

“My astronaut in a shining spacesuit,” Shiro said, laughing.

“Nah, I don’t think we have anything to worry about,” Katie said, leaning back in her chair, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. “Matt couldn’t pilot his way out of a paper-bag and Dad’s car has way too many dings and scratch marks to even plausibly believe that he could get the shuttle back to Earth in one piece.”

“I heard that, Katie-Cat,” Her father said from somewhere off-screen. 

“You were supposed to, Dad,” Katie said. “That’s what you get for eavesdropping.”

Her father stepped into view, smiling at her. “For the record,” He said, clapping a hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “I would never leave a man behind. Even if that man is dating my baby girl. Although I’ll also admit,” Sam Holt smiled at Katie. “My baby girl has made an excellent choice.”

“Of course I did,” Katie said. “I got all my taste from Mom.”

Sam laughed. “That you did.” He patted Shiro on the shoulder and added, “You two need to wrap it up. Matt’s about got all the equipment ready to gather those ice samples.”

“Ice samples, fun,” Shiro said sarcastically. Commander Holt laughed, said his good-byes, then wandered away. Shiro looked at Katie again, smiling. “Same time next week?”

Katie nodded. “It’s a date.” She hesitated, then, “Dad and Matt are gone?”

Shiro leaned back and looked to the side, then nodded, smiling slightly.

Katie puckered her lips and kissed the air in front of her. “Virtual kiss!”

Chuckling slightly, Shiro repeated the action and “Virtual kiss!”

They made sure not to get caught; no need to give Matt more ammo than he already had against them.

“Love you,” Katie said.

“Love you more,” Shiro said.

“Hmm, don’t think that’s possible.”

“Oh, it’s incredibly possible. Scientifically proven possible.”

“It was once considered scientifically possible that the sun revolved around the Earth, so I think your science can be disproven, therefore proving that I love you more.”

“Ah, yes, but if you look at the data figures, then you will see that I love you—”

“Oh for the love of—you both love each other, okay? We know this already,” Matt groaned, coming onto the screen. “Katie, I’m borrowing lover boy here.”

“Bring him back exactly as you found him,” Katie instructed. “Not a scratch. Fill up the tank. Back before midnight. And I’ll be checking the mileage.”

Matt rolled his eyes. “Will do, Katie. Love you, see you later!”

The screen turned dark.

The next week came, and Katie sat and waited in front of the computer for Shiro to open the connection. But he never did.

She waited and waited until impatience got the better of her. She tried to connect…

**Unable to make a connection. Server not found.**

She frowned, not understanding what was wrong.

A heart-broken wail broke the beginning of her problem analysis, sending her downstairs to face the words on the television screen.

_Pilot error. Entire crew lost. ___

__Tears welled up in her eyes and anger swelled in her heart._ _

__Katie Holt knew when she was being lied to._ _

__And nothing was going to stop her from finding the truth._ _

__*****_ _

__Katie stared long and hard at the strip of photos from the fair in her hand, her heart pounding._ _

__Tonight, she was going to break into the Garrison._ _

__Tonight, she was going to find out the truth._ _

__Tonight, she was going to find out what really happened to her father, brother, and boyfriend._ _

__She brushed her thumb gently over the glossy paper, over Shiro’s cheek, willing her eyes to not start watering._ _

__She missed him so much._ _

__“The Garrison is wrong,” She whispered. “Whatever happened, it wasn’t your fault, Takashi. I’m going to find out the truth and make sure everyone knows it.”_ _

__His smiling face said nothing in response._ _

__Katie swallowed. She pressed her fingers to her lips, kissed them, then blew the kiss towards Shiro._ _

__He was thousands of miles away. Or, his body was at least._ _

__She couldn’t hold him, or hear his voice, or his laugh, see his smile in person._ _

__She was going to get justice. For him, for her family._ _

__“Love you, Takashi,” She whispered._ _

__Then she tenderly placed the strip onto her desk, standing up and grabbing her bag._ _

__She left the room as Katie Holt, grieving and loving daughter, sister and girlfriend._ _

__When she returned, she was Pidge Gunderson, a smart boy with nothing to lose and everything to gain._ _


	2. Shiro and Pidge

Pidge stared, unbelieving at the screen.

Takashi, her Takashi, returned from the dead, his dark hair streaked with white, the warm hand that she held replaced by metal, a scar cutting across his face over the bridge of his nose. He was strapped to a table, his warnings ignored by Garrison personnel, a syringe prepared even as he tried to fight away.

Her Takashi…

The next few minutes were a blur: the explosions, entering the camp, Lance and Keith hoisting Shiro between them, climbing onto Keith’s hover bike.

She felt numb, just so numb, she didn’t even notice when Lance shoved something at her.

More like someone.

“Why am I holding this guy?” She demanded. Hunk would have been a better option, didn’t Lance realize that? Hunk was closer to Shiro’s size, and way stronger. Still, she wrapped her arms around Shiro, holding him close and praying that her small noddle arms were enough to keep him there.

They were going to have to be; she wasn’t going to let go of him again.

One hoverbike/car chase scene and death-defying dive off a cliff later, Keith pulled the bike to a halt in front of a cabin. Keith easily dismounted, looking irritable as he looked at his unexpected passengers.

“I guess you can stay here until morning,” He said without any sort of enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, his passengers were still clinging onto the bike for dear life, eyes wide.

Keith rolled his eyes and went to tug Shiro out of Pidge’s arms. Instinctively, she clung to his unconscious form even tighter. He arched an eyebrow at her. “You going to carry him inside all by yourself?”

Pidge’s grip slackened; no, she definitely couldn’t do that.

So she reluctantly let Shiro be taken away from her again.

She followed the boys into the shack, dumping her backpack in a corner as she watched as Keith and Lance settled Shiro on the couch—the only thing close enough to a bed in the one-room shack.

She wasn’t sure what the argument was over or who started, just could only watch as Keith and Lance argued and Hunk tried to break it up.

While they were distracted, it was the perfect opportunity.

She took a seat on the floor beside Shiro’s head. After taking a moment to give a brief glance over to the three boys, she quickly pressed a kiss to Shiro’s forehead.

“Welcome home, Takashi.” She whispered. “Welcome home.”

*****

Shiro was half-asleep, exhausted by the ordeal of the last day and a half. First the robotic monster they fought as Voltron, then the Castle being taken, being held hostage by Sendak, helping Pidge and the others defeat him, then loading Lance into a healing pod.

Oh, and then there was the whole thing with remembering that he had fought for his captors amusement, saving Matt’s life in the process.

Well, at least Katie was safe now and hopefully so was her family, somewhere, even if they were still prisoners.

After all, he promised Katie and Mrs. Holt that he’d get the three of them back to Earth safely, and he wasn’t going to back out on a promise to his girlfriend’s mother.

Shiro’s eyes flew open and wide, jerking upright in his bunk, shoving aside blankets.

_Girlfriend…_

Pidge, no, _Katie_ was his girlfriend.

And he forgot.

He ran out the door, heart pounding, bare feet thundering on the floor, all of his earlier aches and pains gone.

He remembered…

Movie nights and video game tournaments and dinners even before they were dating.

That stupid piece of mistletoe Matt dangled over their heads.

Their New Year’s kiss, their first date, their first dance at the Kerberos announcement gala. All the times Katie showed up to surprise him at the Garrison, their time spent sipping coffee in bookstores and hours spent in comic shops, their trip to the fair, the first time he told her that he loved her.

He forgot it all.

And then he remembered.

He just had to hope that she would forgive him.

He skidded to a stop in front of the door of the room Coran had assigned to Pidge, nearly falling over as he almost missed it.

He knocked on the door, feeling more nervous than he had on the day he first asked her out. Even more nervous than when he picked her up for that first date.

Pidge came to the door, wearing a white tank-top and green pajama bottoms that most likely belonged to the previous Green Paladin given how long they were in the legs. She blinked at him in confusion, reaching up as if to push back a long lock of hair that was no longer there. Her fingers seemed to realize that halfway through the gesture that her long hair had been cropped short, and instead her fingers went to adjust the pair of Matt’s glasses she wore but didn’t need.

“Shiro?” She said. “Everything alright?”

No, he wasn’t alright. Of all the things for his brain to temporary erase, how could she—one of the most important things in his life—have been taken away from him?

“Katie,” He breathed. “I… We were…”

He didn’t know what to say, what to do. After all, he had been declared dead for a year, according to Keith. What if she was dating someone else now?

“Yes?” Katie prompted, face full of patience and concern and a little bit of something else.

Hope?

“We… we’re dating,” Shiro forced out, gesturing back and forth between himself and Katie.

“We were,” Katie said, nodding. “Before Kerberos…” Her gaze fell to the ground. “I, uh, I don’t know if you still—”

He cupped her face in his hands, making her look up at him. Neither of them said a word. They didn’t need to. She blinked, then smiled, reaching up to put her hand on his new metal hand.

He leaned down, pressing his lips to hers.

For the first time since he woke up from crashing on Earth, without an arm and with pieces of his memory gone, he felt complete.

Like things were going to be okay.

Because he was reunited with Katie, and that was all that mattered.

*****

As much as Shiro wanted to pick up exactly where they left off, Pidge simply took his hands in hers and looked him dead in the eye and said it wasn’t going to happen.

He had been hurt, and Pidge panicked and quickly explained.

They couldn’t just pick up where they left off, because they had both changed and so much had happened in the last year. Like they were back to the early phases of their relationship. It wasn’t exactly a fresh start and brand new, or exactly what they did before or where they were before. What they did know was they both still had strong feelings for each other, and wanted to continue to strengthen their relationship.

“So we’re dating.” Shiro asked for clarification, smirking slightly. “Exactly what we were doing a year ago?”

“Yes, but this time with alien robot Lions and explosions and saving an entire universe,” Pidge said with that Cheshire Cat grin of hers. “It’s like a sequel.”

“So last year it was Takashi and Katie, and now it’s Two Takashi, Two Katie?”

“I was thinking Shiro-Holt: The Second One.”

“Why do the sequels always have more explosions?”

“Bigger budgets thanks to the success of the original. Lucky for us, the critics agree that we’re awesome. A box office hit. Got a great Rotten Tomatoes score, too.”

They laughed and talked. And even though so much had changed, so much had stayed the same. The little snort that Pidge made when she got laughing really hard, the way her eyes sparkled when she talked about robots, the way her arms felt around his waist. He was glad for that.

So they had been dating, then he was declared dead while being held prisoner in an evil alien empire (which puts a damper on anyone’s love life), and now they were dating again.

Life was great.

Except…

It was mostly Shiro’s fault, he could admit that.

In his defense, though, it was innocent enough. Stumbling into breakfast half-awake, not really focused on much except the Altean equivalent of coffee and food goo. Oh, and how cute his girlfriend looked with her mused up hair and half-lidded eyes focused on the computer screen in front of her as she slowly sipped her own alien not-coffee.

He couldn’t resist.

He pressed a kiss to her cheek and mumbled, “Morning.”

“Morning,” Pidge mumbled back.

Shiro slid into the chair beside her and started to spoon food goo into his mouth, not even flinching at the sound of spoons dropping and clanging against bowls and the table.

It was on the third bite that he actually looked up and around the table at the five pairs of wide-eyes and open-mouths staring at them. He blinked slowly. “Uh… Everything okay?”

“You… you kissed Pidge!” Lance exclaimed, leaping to his feet as he pointed across the table, finger alternately focusing on Shiro and Pidge.

“Yeah…” Shiro said, feeling like he was missing something.

“It’s just… It was rather unexpected,” Allura said delicately.

Shiro blinked again. “It was?”

“Yeah, just… We’ve never, you’ve never…” Hunk threw his hands in the air, at a loss for words.

“You kissed Pidge!” Lance exclaimed again, throwing his own hands above his head. “And she let you!”

“Yeah, he’s allowed to do that,” Pidge said, not even looking up from the computer. “Or, rather, I’m cool with it. Being that he’s my boyfriend and all.”

The room was silent once more then everyone broke out into a flurry of sound at once, five different voices simultaneously asking for an explanation and expressing congratulations.

_Whoops,_ Shiro thought, taking a long sip of his not-coffee. _Guess we forgot to mention to the team that we’re dating…_

*****

Shiro avoided the mirror. Avoided looking down at his own bare skin for that matter. He hated the way his body had changed and been changed.

There was the readily visible: the metal arm that was also a weapon, the scar across his face, his hair that had turned white at the ripe old age of nineteen.

But Shiro knew that the worst of it was hidden only to himself, hidden under his clothes.

Scars of various lengths and depth coated his torso and legs. Neat, precise surgical scars and not-so-neat slashes, both sutured shut, the needle marks still visible. Teeth marks. Burns. Whips.

He hated each and every one of them. Didn’t spare a glance at the mirror when he bathed or dressed, and constantly covered up and made excuses. He didn’t go to the Castle’s pool even after Lance and Keith figured out how to make it work for humans. When the Castle’s cooling system was on the fritz, he nearly died of heatstroke refusing to take off his shirt or change into short sleeves. He refused help in bandaging up minor injuries sustained in battle and training.

Ultimately, he refused to let Pidge see them.

It didn’t end up working out that way, though.

He was changing into his pajamas for the night, hadn’t thought to lock the door, hadn’t thought that Pidge might just show up a few minutes earlier and be too distracted by what was on her mind to knock.

Shiro was just so glad that there were no Galra soldiers around to hear the former Champion and current Black Paladin of Voltron shriek and watch him clutch his shirt to his chest.

Pidge just stood there for a moment and blinked slowly, taking it all in. He didn’t meet her face, afraid to see pity there. Or disgust. Or…

Shiro turned away, cheeks flaming red. He quickly tried to get his shirt on over his head, but thin arms wrapped around his waist, surprising him.

“Don’t rush to cover up,” Pidge whispered, her thumb brushing over a scar along his side. “Why didn’t you tell me? Or show me?”

“Because I hate them,” Shiro said, tugging down the shirt. “Didn’t want you to see. They’re ugly and a reminder of everything the Galra took from me. From us”

Pidge gently turned him around to face her. “I don’t hate them, or think they’re ugly.”

“You don’t have to lie. I don’t want to be pitied.”

Pidge frowned at that and grabbed the hem of his shirt, pulling it up. Standing on her toes slightly, she pressed a kiss to a thin scar that cut across his right pectoral, then pressed another to a thick, ropy scar that ran from just above his navel and around to his back. And then another to a scar above his hip, and a criss-crossed one up on his shoulder.

She looked up at him, eyes no-nonsense, a look he was plenty familiar with. “These scars are part of you. Neither of us like that they are, but we can’t do anything to change that. We can’t do anything to change the last year of hell we’ve lived. The Galra took a lot away from you, from us, yes.” She stood on her toes, putting her hands on his cheeks, pulling him down slightly. “But part of how we’re going to defeat Zarkon is by refusing to let him take anything else. Especially from us. You’re still as handsome as the day we first met, the day I last saw you. Scars aren’t going to change that. You can hide them if you want, if that’s what you’re comfortable with. But I love them, just as much as I love you.”

“Why?” Shiro whispered. “Why?”

“Because they are proof you survived,” Pidge said. “As much as the Galra tried, they couldn’t keep us apart.” Her lips quirked into a smirk. “We’re too strong for them. We’re going to defeat them purely by being the ultimate power couple of the universe.”

Shiro couldn’t help but snort at that. “Voltron smoltron, right?”

“Exactly. Now get down here so I can kiss you.”

Shiro did what he was told.

He never exactly loved his scars after that. But he was at peace with them.

*****

Pidge couldn’t believe it.

She had found that her boyfriend was alive and been reunited with him as part of this epic quest to save the universe and rescue her brother and father, only to lose him again thanks to a stupid corrupted wormhole. Then she got stranded in the middle of a trash heap with only little fuzzy trash creatures for comfort while the Green Lion was down, with her injured boyfriend somewhere in the universe and most likely in danger because that seemed to be a reoccurring theme for Takashi Shirogane.

If she ever saw that stupid witch of Zarkon’s, she was going to kill her. Forget her bayard, forget her new giant robotic super-weapon Lion BFF, she was going to use her own two hands to finish the job.

Well. Time to prove she had earned her “Self-Rescuing Princess” t-shirt and make General Leia Organa and Wonder Woman proud.

Within moments of having her beacon online, the Castle of Lions appeared with Princess Allura and Coran on board, happy to see her.

They began the search for the others.

To Pidge’s relief, they picked up signals from the Black and Red Lions first.

Pidge quickly landed Green, rushing out of the Lion and towards Shiro, who was being supported by Keith, wincing as he walked, ugly glowing purple gashes along his side.

She wanted to throw her arms around him, but the gashes made her hesitate; she didn’t want to hurt him. But her eyes watered as she saw him, all her fears and worries dropping on her like a sudden weight like they hadn’t been able to before, as well as relief that he was okay. In pain and exhausted but alive. She hadn’t lost him…

She saw relief in his eyes, too. He was happy to see her, and the Castle. He held out his free arm for a hug, and she carefully wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Don’t you scare me like that again,” She threatened, tears sliding down her cheeks. “Or I’ll… Or I’ll…”

She didn’t finish, feeling a hand on her cheek, looking up at Shiro, who was too tired and in pain to speak, and could only apologize with his eyes and smile. Sniffling, she rose up onto her toes and pressed a kiss to his lips.

“Don’t scare me like that,” She whispered.

“I’ll do my best not to,” Shiro promised.

She has this weird feeling that this was as best she could get from him.

*****

Pidge glared at the ceiling, exhausted but unable to sleep.

Beside her laid her wonderful, charming, handsome, intelligent, talented and all around awesome boyfriend whom she loved and adored.

Even if he did snore like some twisted lovechild of a chainsaw and a foghorn.

Pidge huffed and sat up, glaring over at Shiro, sound asleep, mouth open, unholy sounds coming out of his mouth.

At least he was sleeping. He hadn’t been doing that much lately. That was why they had started this arrangement, of cuddling each other to sleep. So far it was working. Well. Halfway. Shiro was getting plenty of rest. Pidge? Not so much.

It wasn’t his fault, she knew that. When Shiro was in the healing pod, Coran had detected a large amount of scar tissue in Shiro’s nasal passages, exactly where the new scar that cut across his face was. The scar tissue made it difficult for Shiro to breathe through his nose, and therefore he snored.

Loudly.

Pidge heaved another sigh, reaching over to grab another pillow. She carefully slid her hand under Shiro’s head, lifting him slightly, making his snores skip slightly but thankfully he did not wake as she placed the extra pillow under his head. Blessedly, the snoring ceased.

She gently adjusted the blankets around Shiro, tucking him in. Then, she leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to his nose, right on top of his scar.

“Sleep easier,” She whispered. “Good night.”

Then she tucked herself into Shiro’s side, falling fast asleep.

*****

Pidge took deep breaths, promising herself not to cry even as Shiro’s sobs wracked his entire body.

“It’s alright,” She promised, gently rubbing his arm, lying on the floor beside him. “You’re safe.”

But he wasn’t; he knew he wasn’t. Because he wasn’t on the Castleship, he was on a Galra cruiser somewhere. His brain teleported him back there, though his body was lying on the training deck floor, tears no longer flowing and his breath coming in harsh pants.

Pidge could do nothing to help except lay beside him and whisper to him, hoping that she said the right magic words to bring him back.

One lone, rebellious tear slid down her cheek despite her best efforts as she leaned forward, gently pressing a kiss to Shiro’s forehead.

“I’m here, Shiro, I’m always here for you,” She whispered, gently stroking his cheek as he came back from the hell in his mind and into reality once more.

No matter how many times he left, he always came back to her.

And she would always be there, waiting, when he returned.

*****

Shiro glanced up from the book he was reading on the tablet to look over at Pidge, tapping away furiously on her laptop, mumbling to herself.

He smiled faintly. He couldn’t resist…

He leaned over slightly and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

The clicking and clacking of her keyboard stopped, as did the mumbling.

Still smiling, Shiro pulled away…

Only to see his girlfriend’s grumpy face and her fogged up glasses.

“Thanks,” She said dryly. “Thanks a whole lot…”

Shiro knew he shouldn’t have laughed at his now-angry girlfriend. But he did, long and hard, arms around his stomach, tears down his face.

It was the funniest and cutest thing he had seen in a long time.

It was the most normal he had felt in a long time.

*****

Shiro decided that he liked being the Black Paladin. He liked having a leadership role, being both mentor and friend to his teammates. He liked forming Voltron, and the satisfaction after battles of knowing that his team gave their all whether it was an easy victory or a close call.

But he hated the meetings. He hated the hours spent over data and maps and arguing over troop locations and whatnot.

And Slav. Don’t even get him started on Slav.

Unfortunately, he showed that he was actually somewhat competent in regards to the data and strategic planning, which resulted in both Allura and Kolivan dumping huge piles of work and decisions onto him, giving him report after report on various details large and small.

Shiro was wading through a metaphorical sea of paper, getting grumpier and grumpier as the ticks ticked on and each varga passed.

“Hey.”

Shiro grunted slightly at Pidge, eyes not leaving the screen.

“Don’t you think you should take a break?”

“You’re one to talk.”

Suddenly, the chair beneath him moved and he was spun around. Pidge put her hands on either side of his head, resting her palms flat against the back of the chair. She frowned at him in a way that for some reason made him feel self-conscious.

Then she leaned forward, pressing a kiss directly between his eyes. She pulled back with a smile.

“What was that for?” Shiro asked, feeling confused.

Pidge placed her thumb to the spot she just kissed, rubbing it gently. He almost let out a moan at how good it felt. “You got all wrinkly right there… Clearly you’re stressed and needed something—or someone—to relieve it for you.”

Shiro felt his mouth curve into a smile, throwing his arms around her waist, making her squeal as she fell into his lap. He pressed a kiss onto the top of her head.

“Thank quiznak for someone,” He murmured, holding her tightly.

Behind them, the war was temporarily forgotten.

*****

“Pidge, wait!” Shiro called even as sirens wailed around them. He watched as she skidded to a stop, turning around to look at him in confusion, her helmet tucked under her arm. 

He jogged up to her and leaned down, quickly pressing a kiss to her lips.

“For luck,” He told her.

She smiled, then stood on her toes to give him another kiss. “For luck,” She repeated. Then she put her helmet on her head and started running towards the entrance to the Green Lion’s hanger, calling out behind her, “Let’s go kick some butt, babe!”

Shiro grinned and put his own helmet on, running towards his own Lion.

That Robeast and fleet of cruisers never stood a chance.

*****

Everyone was exhausted. The mission had been intense but successful. This was the first time any of them had stopped moving at all since very early that morning. They were tired and aching, but yet no one had found their way to their room yet, all gathered in the lounge.

Pidge lazily glanced around the room, her head rested on Shiro’s shoulder. Hunk was already passed out, snoring loudly on the couch. Allura kept dozing off, the mice asleep on top of her head, legs and shoulders. Keith and Lance had been arguing—over what, Pidge had no idea—but their argument had somehow turned into a half-hearted poking war that ended when Lance toppled over and his head fell on Keith’s shoulder, fast asleep, and Keith followed suit almost immediately after, his head against Lance’s. Even Coran—whom Pidge was certain had a Red Bull-type substance flowing through his veins instead of blood and never slept—was drooping; heck, even Coran’s _mustache_ looked exhausted.

Pidge tilted her head up slightly, to see if Shiro had faded as well, and saw sleepy, half-lidded gray eyes looking down at her.

“Love you,” He mumbled, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

“Love you, too,” She mumbled back. “Kiss?”

“Yeah,” Shiro said.

It took them both a moment of just sitting there, too tired to move. Then Pidge pushed herself up and climbed into Shiro’s lap. She pressed a kiss to his lips, then tucked her head under his chin, his arm over her legs. She fell asleep to the rumbling of Shiro’s snoring mixed with the slow, steady thumping of his heart.

They earned a good-night’s sleep…

*****

It felt unreal. Surreal. It took several moments for everything to connect, for the metaphorical dust to settle.

Zarkon had been defeated months ago. And now the very last of the Galra commanding officers had surrendered to Voltron.

They had won. They had saved the entire universe.

Then everything clicked, all at once, and the celebrating began. The laughter and the hugs and the tears and the fanfare and the euphoric high that was contagious.

Pidge grinned so wide her face hurt.

They won.

She and Matt could easily find their father.

She could take them home to Earth, to her mother.

She would never have to worry about Shiro disappearing or getting hurt or dying in battle ever again.

Shiro.

She rushed over to him, his grin matching her own, his arms outstretched in preparation of her throwing her arms around his neck, giggling their noses bumping together slightly. He spun her around as she laughed and cried out, “We won! We won! We won!”

The world stopped spinning, and fireworks erupted, both literally and figuratively.

Pyrotechnics were already being used in celebration in the sky, and she was kissing Shiro, kissing him like she never had before, being kissed like she never had before.

They broke off, panting and clinging to each other and full of the best kind of tension but relaxed at the same time.

“Marry me.”

The words tumbled out of Shiro’s mouth, unexpected by the both of them.

Pidge blinked. “What?”

“Well, not now,” Shiro said quickly. “I mean, when we get back to Earth. Crap, I’m doing this wrong.”

He set Pidge on the ground, then lowered himself to the ground, holding both of her hands in his as he got on one knee.

“Katie Holt,” He said. “Green Paladin of Voltron, love of my life, the holder of my heart, will you marry me?”

“YES!” She screamed, then grabbed his face, pressing another kiss to his lips.

They were so high in the sky, nothing could touch them, even the stars were below them.


	3. Happily Ever After...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Shidgentine's Day!

Pidge took a deep breath and gazed around her mother’s moonlit garden, sipping her cup of chamomile tea as she sat on a bench, listening to the crickets chirp.

So much had happened in the last two years since peace was declared. She had reunited with her family, she had helped unite a universe, she and her friends had been given a hero’s welcome back on Earth, and she had planned a wedding.

Her wedding.

The wedding that was tomorrow.

The wedding where she and Shiro were getting married.

Husband and wife. For better or for worse, till death do us part.

She had planned for every detail perfectly.

Alright, so maybe it was more that her mother, Shiro’s mother, Allura and Lance had planned every detail. But she helped! She gave her input! She planned all the big details, like the dress and colors and location and the bridal party! That was the important stuff, the stuff that mattered the most, right?

But there was so much she hadn’t planned for, couldn’t guarantee. Like what if she tripped going down the aisle? Or what if the cake toppled over before it was even cut? Or what if the officiator woke up sick in the morning? What if she woke up with a huge zit right in the middle of her forehead? 

What if aliens attacked right in the middle of the ceremony? Or, worse, on their honeymoon? Oh, quiznak, she didn’t even want to think about all the things that could go wrong on their honeymoon…

“What are you doing out here so late?”

Pidge jerked up, instantly on high alert, only to relax at seeing Shiro walk towards her. “I could ask you the same question,” She pointed out.

“Couldn’t sleep,” Shiro admitted.

“Me either.” Pidge sipped her tea, then asked, “So, um… Nervous, excited? What?”

“Both,” Shiro said, sitting down beside her. “You?”

“Panicking,” Pidge confessed. “About everything that could possibly go wrong.”

“You’ve been hanging out with Slav too much.”

Hmm, was it too late at night to call Slav and get the probabilities for getting-kidnapped-by-aliens-on-their-honeymoon? Or was it a perfectly acceptable time on the planet Slav was currently on? Time in space was weird.

“Katie,” Shiro said gently, placing his hand on her knee. “Everything’s going to be fine.”

“How do you know?” Pidge demanded in a grumble.

“Because there is only one thing that I know for sure: that I love you, and that you love me, and apparently we love each other that we want to spend the rest of our lives together. Something goes wrong tomorrow? Fine, whatever. We’re still together and fine. Or if something goes wrong and we can’t get married exactly like we planned, we’ll just re-do it the day after. Heck, we’ll get Allura to marry us in an IHOP if we need to.”

“Ooh, that’s actually very tempting. Tie the knot, eat some pancakes, toast with coffee and hot chocolate. Dang it, why didn’t I think of that months ago?”

“Well, you sort of did by suggesting we get married then have the reception at that cookie shop on Third Street, but your mom and Lance shut you down.”

“It would have been great, instead of a traditional wedding cake we could have had one of those cookie cakes. Would have been Pintrest perfect.”

“But do you see my point?”

Pidge smiled and nodded. “Yeah, babe, I see your point.” She then nudged Shiro in the arm with her elbow. “Alright, so why are you so nervous you can’t sleep?”

Even in the dark, she could see that his cheeks were red. “Ah, well, uh… I was… worrying… about messing up the vows or dropping the rings or spilling something on your dress or—”

Pidge laughed and took his hand. “You know,” She told him. “A couple of years ago, this really awesome guy I know, he passed on some advice he had gotten from his commanding officer. I think it’s applicable to the both of us in this case. If you get too worried about what could go wrong—”

“You might miss a chance to do something great,” Shiro finished, smiling. “Your dad’s pretty wise.”

“Yeah, he is,” Pidge agreed. She brought his hand to her lips, pressing a kiss to his knuckles. “Let’s go be great.”

“Best way to do that is to actually go to sleep,” Shiro said, squeezing her hand slightly before standing up. “Let’s go inside.”

“I don’t want to,” Pidge whined, but she got up anyways. “Because I won’t be allowed to see you again until the wedding. Stupid superstitions and other nonsense.”

“I’m sure that, between the two of us, we could find a way if we were determined enough.” Shiro assured her as they walked back towards the house. “For starters, you could pull a bridezilla on everyone. You haven’t pulled that card from your arsenal yet, and you’re running out of time to use it.”

“Should definitely have used it to get a cookie cake…”

Shiro walked her all the way to her bedroom door. He leaned down and gently kissed her, both of their mouths twitching into smiles at the kiss. Shiro placed another kiss close to her ear, whispering, “Good night, Miss Holt.”

She slept soundly the rest of the night, a smile on her face.

*****

“Shiro. Seriously. Stop fidgeting,” Keith snapped irritably, reaching up to gently slap Shiro’s hands away from his tie.

“I can’t help it, I’m nervous,” Shiro said, hands falling to his sides as Keith fixed the tie.

“Yeah, that’s pretty obvious,” Matt commented dryly. His eyes narrowed. “Cold feet?”

There was a dangerous lilt under the casual tone he used. A “you better not break my baby sister’s heart” lilt.

“Not cold feet,” Shiro insisted. “Just… what if I trip down the aisle? Or accidentally make Katie trip going up to the alter? Or if the rings don’t come untied easily from the ring bearer’s pillow?”

“The rings on the pillow are decoys, I have the ring for Pidge and Lance, Hunk and Allura have the ring for you,” Keith said, pulling out the box with the ring in question from his coat pocket to show Shiro for extra emphasis.

“What if I get down the aisle and throw up from being nervous?”

“Do you feel like you’re going to throw up?” Matt asked cautiously, he and Keith both taking a cautious step back and throwing panicked glances at each other.

“No, but what if I do when I get to the end of the aisle? What if I do in the middle of the vows? Or what if aliens try to kidnap us in the middle of the ceremony? I have a record of being kidnapped by aliens, you know.”

“Then it’s a good thing that your best man is a Paladin of Voltron and a member of the Blade of Marmora, your groomsman is a former intergalactic freedom fighter, the brides-dudes are also Paladins of Voltron, and the bridesmaid is freaking Princess Allura ‘I-can-easily-throw-a-man-fifty-yards’ of Altea. And, oh, look at that, the bride and the groom also just happen to be Paladins, too.” Keith said with a level of sarcasm that Shiro never knew he had. Keith then suddenly shuddered. “I pity the fools who would try, though. Hell hath no fury like Allura and Lance having the wedding they planned to perfection be interrupted.”

Shiro and Matt both shuddered at the mental imagery.

Matt glanced down at his watch, then back up at Shiro. “Look man, what happens will happen. Just relax and enjoy the moment.”

He remembered what Pidge had told him the night before. _“Let’s go be great.”_

Colleen suddenly appeared, placing her hand on Matt’s shoulder as she met Shiro’s eyes. “The musicians are finishing their last prelude piece, the procession is about to start. You ready?”

Shiro took a deep breath and nodded. He looked at all three of them and grinned. “Let’s do this.”

Within minutes, he was standing in front of the alter, heart pounding, nerves gone completely because, halfway down the aisle, he realized Katie would be taking those same steps moments later.

He was going to see Katie, after having been barred from her all day, and he was going to see her in her wedding dress.

He swallowed slightly as the music shifted, and everyone rose to face the doors, opening to reveal…

Shiro couldn’t breathe, he could barely see through the tears in his eyes, his face hurting from smiling so wide, his heart threatening to leap out of his chest.

There was Katie, in her gorgeous white and green gown, a short veil pinned into her bun, smiling widely but yet shyly as she walked down the aisle on her father’s arm, her eyes only on Shiro.

He was going to _marry_ her, spend the rest of his life with her.

Commander Holt gave both his daughter and Shiro a look of pride as he placed Katie’s hand into Shiro’s. The Commander rested his hand on top of both of theirs for a moment. Nothing needed to be said, no promises needed to be made. Love and joy and pride were conveyed between the three of them, the future bright and beautiful no matter how ugly the past was.

Sam Holt bowed his head towards the bride and groom and took his seat beside Colleen, who was already in tears.

Shiro led his bride up to the officiant.

“You look beautiful,” He whispered on the way up. ‘Beautiful’ wasn’t even the right word; it wasn’t descriptive enough. But neither was gorgeous, or stunning, or even perfect. She was all that and more.

“You don’t clean up too bad yourself,” She whispered back, briefly flashing him her trademark smirk.

He wanted to kiss her then and there.

“Do you, Takashi Shirogane, take Katie Holt to be your wedded wife, to cherish in love and in friendship, in strength and in weakness, in success and in disappointment, to love her faithfully today, tomorrow, and as for long as you both shall live?”

“I do.” Shiro promised, looking directly into Pidge’s eyes.

“And do you, Katelyn Holt, take Takashi Shirogane to be your wedded husband, to cherish in love and in friendship, in strength and in weakness, in success and in disappointment, to love him faithfully, today, tomorrow, and for as long as you both shall live.”

“I do,” Pidge said, her small hand giving his a small squeeze.

He slipped a thin gold band around her finger, and she placed a slightly larger band around his.

“By the power of your love and commitment, and the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

They had been kissing each other for years now.

But as he leaned down to meet her, and she rose up onto her toes for that first kiss as husband and wife, he couldn’t help but feel like that nervous teenager once again, sharing that first kiss with her all over again, just like they had on that New Year’s Eve all those years ago.

Nothing else mattered. Not Voltron, not the reestablished Galaxy Garrison, not their diplomatic endeavors, not even the crowd of cheering guests from all corners of the universe sitting in the pews.

For that moment, for that kiss, they were just Takashi and Katie again.

Husband and wife.

*****

Shiro slowly blinked, waking up at a glacial pace. He was warm, the bed was soft, Pidge was curled up against him, their noses pressed together. They had fallen asleep the night before, giggling like little kids, too tired from the previous day’s stress and activities to do anything except fall into bed together, clutching onto each other and sharing sleepy kisses.

Sunlight streamed in from the window, falling perfectly over Pidge’s face, making her hair shimmer and her pale freckles stand out and the left-over eye-shadow glittered. He could see where her mascara was flaking off, revealing the paler lashes underneath.

Stars, she was beautiful.

She was beautiful, and smart, and witty, and she married _him_.

She was his wife. He was her husband.

It was so mind-blowing.

He brought her hand to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss on the knuckle above her wedding band.

Pidge shifted slightly, making a small mumbling sound as her brown-sugar eyes cracked open. Her lips curled into a smile as she saw him.

“Good morning,” She whispered.

“Good morning,” Shiro whispered back, leaning in to press a gentle peck to her mouth, his own lips curled up into a smile. “Mrs. Shirogane.”

She giggled and wrapped one arm around his waist, her other hand on the back of his head, pulling him into a deeper kiss.

They spent their first morning as husband and wife lying in bed together, kissing and giggling and cuddling and whispering ‘I love you’, basking in how lucky and happy they were.

*****

In the year and a half since their wedding day, Shiro thought life couldn’t get any better. There was peace throughout the universe, he had married the love of his life, they had the best friends and family ever, and they had a dog.

Nothing could be better.

Then Pidge surprised him. Because of course she did, she was always surprising him.

Still, he had a moment of panic when he entered the house and saw the candlelit dinner waiting for him, and Pidge in the green dress that was her favorite to wear and his favorite to see her wear.

“Hi, sweetheart,” Pidge said, throwing him a grin over her shoulder as she placed glasses of water on the table. “Dinner’s almost ready, just waiting on the rice cooker to finish.”

She practically skipped back towards the kitchen, leaving Shiro standing there, mentally going through a calendar in his head.

It wasn’t their wedding anniversary. Or the anniversary of their first date. Or her birthday. Or his birthday. It wasn’t the day he crashed back to Earth after having been declared dead for a year, nor was it the day his brain decided to remind him that he and Pidge were dating. Definitely not the day that the Galra Empire was defeated, that was celebrated on every single planet on the same day.

So what was the occasion for a fancy dinner? Especially when Pidge hated to cook?

More importantly, was it too late to run out and get a bouquet of flowers and pretend he knew exactly what the occasion was?

“Anything I can do to help?” Shiro asked, going to the entryway to the kitchen, desperate to find a way to get Good Husband points.

Pidge shook her head, her long hair swishing slightly from where it was tied up into an elegant ponytail, as she piled rice into bowls. On the counter were plates all ready to go, filled with vegetables and beef covered in teriyaki sauce.

Pidge, who hated to cook, had made one of his favorite meals for some special occasion that he had forgotten about.

Yep, he was winning Husband of the Year right now…

“Well,” Shiro said, internally panicking. “While you finish that, I’ll feed Chewie.”

“He’s already been fed.”

Quiznak.

“Oh. Great…”

Pidge shooed him back to the dining room and told him to sit down. Feeling quite defeated, he did so.

He hoped Chewie would share the dog bed with him.

Oh, who was he kidding? He wouldn’t have to share the dog bed with Chewie, he’d have it all to himself because 1: Chewie slept in their bed more than his doggy bed anyway and 2: Pidge would totally let Chewie have Shiro’s side of the bed, banishing Shiro from their room all together.

Maybe Keith would let him sleep on his couch. No, darn it, Keith was on a diplomatic mission with Allura and the Blade of Marmora… Well, quiznak, Lance and Hunk definitely weren’t going to take pity on him, they’d say he deserved it.

He was shaken from his thoughts when Pidge put food in front of him.

“Dinner is served!” She said with a dramatic flourish as she took her own seat across from him, unfolding her napkin and draping it across her lap. “So. How was your day?”

“Oh, you know, same old, same old,” Shiro said, quickly grabbing his water glass and taking a drink of it. When he set it down, he said, “I’d much rather hear about your day, love of my life. Anything exciting happen for the most wonderful woman in the universe?”

Pidge’s grin grew at that.

“Well, yes, actually, something exciting did happen,” Pidge said, taking a bite of the meat on her plate. She left Shiro hanging for a moment while she chewed.

“Oh?” Shiro said to fill the silence. “Did you get the funding for that project?”

“Well,” Pidge said, her grin becoming rather cat like as she sipped her water. “I guess you could say I started a new project today. Well, to be more specific, I had unknowingly started the framework a few weeks ago with a colleague, and today I realized that a successful outcome can come from that framework. So today marks the official beginning of the project.”

“Oh, that’s good,” Shiro said. “Who is the colleague? Anyone I know?”

For some reason, Pidge chuckled. “Oh, yes, you know him. In fact, I think you know him as well as you know yourself.”

Shiro’s brow furrowed at that, trying to go through a mental list of Pidge’s colleagues. The only one Shiro could come close to was Hunk, but he had been working with his own team on a project for months now.

Pidge suddenly reached under the table, pulling out a large envelope, holding it out to him. “Here, this is going to be a preview of the final product.”

Shiro frowned, but took the envelope from her. He carefully opened it, becoming even more confused as he pulled out glossy paper that was lighter in some places.

“You’re going to want to hold it up to the light.” Pidge said nonchalantly, taking another bite of food.

Shiro did so, squinting slightly at the indiscernible shape. It definitely didn’t look like a robot, or some kind of computer. Actually, it looked kind of like a…

Shiro’s eyes widened and he turned back to Pidge, mouth agape as she smirked.

“Katie,” He whispered. “Is this…? Are you…?”

Pidge’s eyes started to water as she nodded. “It is. I am.”

Shiro placed the ultrasound images back onto the table, stood up and rushed around to Pidge’s side of the table, swooping her into his arms with a laugh.

“You’re _pregnant_!” He exclaimed, the word falling off his tongue easily, joyously.

Pidge laughed and nodded. “I’m pregnant! We’re going to have a baby, Takashi!”

Shiro kissed her, firmly, passionately, lovingly, reverently.

Katie was pregnant.

He was going to be a father.

They were going to have a baby.

Just that morning, just one hour before, he had thought life couldn’t possibly get better.

For once in his life, he was glad that the universe proved him wrong.

*****

Pidge rocked back and forth in the rocking chair, looking around the nursery, doing a mental inventory of anything else they might need before the babies arrived. The news that she was carrying twins had been quite a surprise, but a happy surprise. 

She reached down to pet Chewbacca—a large, fluffy brown mutt of a dog, whose breed left even the vet stumped and the closest anyone could agree on was that he looked like a Wookie from _Star Wars_ , hence how he got his name—on the head where he laid on the floor beside her, tail thumping slightly. “About another month now, Chewie, then we’ll bring you home some hairless puppies for you to fuss over.”

Chewie had always loved to be wherever his humans were, but had become particularly attached and protective of Pidge in the last few months. If she left the house—even with Shiro at home—he’d lay at the front door and whine. He’d follow her around the house all day long, which at this point in her pregnancy meant that he mostly sat patiently outside the bathroom door, waiting for her to come out after having peed for the ten millionth time that day. Chewie would worm his way between her and Shiro on the bed when they relaxed at night before going to sleep. Then when she and Shiro were ready to actually go to sleep, Chewie would move to her other side, making a well-guarded pregnant-Pidge sandwich in the bed. One night while watching a movie in the living room, Chewie had laid his head on Pidge’s belly, only to yelp in surprise and flee when one of the babies kicked; he kept going back to his previous position, though, and would occasionally let out a small irritated growl or whimper whenever the babies moved.

She smiled as she felt a baby move, almost like they were stretching. She placed a hand on her belly. It wouldn’t be long now… She’d be a mommy, and Shiro would be a daddy, and she’d have her babies in her arms. They would be real, tangible things, rather than these parasite-like creatures taking up residence in her body, sucking nutrients and occasionally deciding to practice karate in the middle of the night.

She wondered who they’d look like, if they would look more like her or Shiro. Her honey colored eyes or Shiro’s sterling ones? Shiro’s raven hair or her thick chestnut locks that refused to be tamed? Would they have Shiro’s eye shape and her perky, upturned nose?

“Thought I’d find you in here,” Shiro said, walking into the nursery and around the rocking chair so he could kneel at Pidge’s other side. He wrapped an arm around Pidge’s waist, pressing his face against her belly. 

Pidge grinned and carded her fingers through her husband’s hair. “How was the meeting?”

Shiro groaned. “Daddy is so sorry, babies, but if the Strockenbelkers don’t stop arguing over every little bit of this trade deal with the Olkari, Daddy is going to lose his mind. You’re going to graduate college before they sign this deal.”

“Well, to be fair, they’re going to be half-Holt, so they could theoretically graduate from college at a very young age.”

“Don’t say that, or they’ll pop out clutching diplomas and I’ll still have to deal with the Strockenbelkers until I’m old and gray-haired.”

“Babe, you’ve already got gray hairs.”

Shiro humphed slightly, nuzzling in closer to Pidge’s stomach. She chuckled.

“You’re going to get a foot or elbow to the face, you know.”

“I hope that I do and that I can cite ‘concussion by unborn child’ as a valid excuse to not go back tomorrow.”

“I think Allura would buy it. She doesn’t quite recognize the differences between humans and Alteans, and Alteans seem to be quite stronger than humans...”

“Seem to be? Allura’s never thrown you like a sack of potatoes before, has she?”

Pidge laughed at that. “Come on, less talk of work and more talk of fun stuff. Let’s go get some food and watch a movie.”

Shiro turned his head towards her and grinned. “Sounds great.”

Pidge felt her smile grow as, before he stood up, Shiro pressed a kiss to her belly, just as he had done every single day since she told him she was pregnant. He continued to follow his pattern, pressing a kiss to Pidge’s lips. A short peck that was repeated not once, not twice, but three times, both of their smiles growing each time.

Then Shiro stood up and held out his hands for her to take. She did so and with much grunting and many muttered swear words, she got to her feet, Shiro wrapping an arm around her waist for support. “I’m not sure if I’m just ready to have the kids in my arms, to stop being pregnant all together, or to just stop feeling like Violet Beauregarde after a trip to Willy Wonka’s factory every time I stand up.”

“Well, you’re too pale to be a blueberry, so you’re not ripe yet. No need for juicing just yet.”

Pidge elbowed him in the side. “Laugh it up, Fuzzball.”

Shiro pressed a kiss to the top of her head, leading her out of the nursery, Chewie on their heels. “What do you want for dinner tonight? Chinese or pizza?”

“Both. I want chicken lo mein on top of pepperoni and mushroom pizza.”

“Of course you do. Eggrolls or breadsticks?”

*****

Pidge ached all over. She had fought in countless battles, had suffered thousands of injuries, but yet she had never felt aches this intense before.

She was exhausted. Her hair was matted from all the sweat, and she dreaded taking it down from the ponytail it was currently in. Every inch of her skin felt gross. She couldn’t wait to go home to her own bed where she didn’t have to wear a stupid hospital gown or be reliant on Matt and her friends bringing her real food.

But she was happy, very happy, lying on her side, smiling at the bassinet that was beside the bed, containing two sleeping bundles, one wrapped in pink and the other in blue.

Hoshi and Hikaru Holt-Shirogane. Her daughter and son. Her babies. Shiro’s babies. _Their_ babies.

Pidge reached a finger in, smiling as Hikaru clasped hold of her finger with his small little fist in his sleep, letting out a big yawn that was still so little.

Shiro knelt on the opposite side of the bassinet, his own finger being clutched by Hoshi, a wide grin on his face, eyes tearing up slightly. He had bags under his eyes, hadn’t shaved in two days, was running on only two hours of sleep on a crappy couch and one cup of coffee, and his shirt already had been spat-up on, but Pidge couldn’t remember a time when Shiro looked as handsome. Or as happy.

“They’re so beautiful,” He whispered. “They’re perfect. They’re ours.” Shiro looked up at her with sparkling eyes. “You’re beautiful. You’re perfect.”

Pidge scoffed. “Yeah, right. I’m so gorgeous, rocking this greasy, squirrel-crafted hair-do and this designer back-less hospital gown in… what is this, snot green? Yep, definitely snot green. Oh, and let’s not forget the mustard-yellow hospital-issue socks, that totally completes the look. I’m one-hundred percent runway ready.”

Shiro leaned over the bassinet, pressing one kiss to Hikaru’s head, then another to Hoshi’s before standing up and walking around to the other side of Pidge’s bed. She winced slightly as she rolled over onto her back.

“You alright?” Shiro asked with concern as she shifted in the bed.

“Yeah,” Pidge said through gritted teeth. She patted the bed beside her for him to join, and he carefully did so, apologizing as he jostled her.

“You’re beautiful, and perfect,” Shiro said again, holding her close. She tilted her head up at him. “You carried two babies—our babies—in you for nine months. You’re the reason they’re healthy. You’re the one who gave birth to them. You’re strong. You’re beautiful.”

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips, a kiss that was full of love and joy and peace and exhaustion and pride and thousands of unexplainable, indescribable feelings and emotions. When they finally broke off, Shiro pressed another kiss against her jaw, right under her ear, whispering, “You’re perfect, Katie. I love you so much.”

Pidge felt her cheeks heat, but she buried herself into Shiro’s side, mumbling, “You’re a big sap, you know that?”

But she was too tired to carry on the conversation.

The new family of four slept contently and without disruption for several hours.

*****

Pidge scuttled around the kitchen, grabbing her to-go cup of coffee, checking her workbag one more time before scooping up her keys.

Then she turned around and frowned, sighing. “Shiro. Darling. Love of my life. What are you doing?”

“Feeding the kids,” Shiro answered, scooping up more oatmeal onto the spoon, Hikaru giggling and opening his mouth wide while Hoshi grabbed Cheerios by the handful off of the tray of her high-chair and stuffed them into her mouth.

“Yeah. I get that. But do you have to make weird faces while you do so?”

“I’m not making weird faces,” Shiro said, his attention clearly on the twins as his voice fell into a baby-talk tone. “Isn’t that right? Daddy’s not making weird faces, is he, Hikaru? No, he’s not.”

Shiro, her huge dork of a husband, was totally making weird faces.

Hikaru, to his credit, didn’t seem to really care what his father did so long as Shiro made sure that the spoon full of oatmeal made it to his mouth.

“Such a good boy!” Shiro praised his son as he scraped excess oatmeal off of Hikaru’s chin. “And look at you, Hoshi! You ate all the Cheerios! And Chewie didn’t have to help you that much! You two are the best eaters in the whole universe, yes you are!”

Pidge rolled her eyes, but couldn’t hold back a smile. The decision for Shiro to become a stay-at-home dad was perhaps the best they had ever made, though it was scenes like this that made it hard for Pidge to leave the house in the morning.

She glanced at the kitchen clock and grimaced. Quiznak, she was going to be late…

“Alright, I’ve got to go,” Pidge said. Careful to not get attacked by sticky hands, Pidge went around the backs of the high-chairs, pressing a kiss to Hoshi and Hikaru’s heads.

Shiro was scraping up another spoonful of oatmeal, not even looking up at her but tilting his head slightly away from Pidge, baring his cheek for her to kiss. It was their routine. Pidge would be ready to walk out the door, but would never leave until she gave Shiro a kiss good-bye.

She smiled and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I love you, Takashi. I’ll call you on my lunch break, and see you tonight.”

“Love you, Katie,” Shiro responded. “Say bye to Mommy, Hoshi! Say bye to Mommy, Hikaru!”

The twins made noises that were nowhere near ‘good-bye’ in any language, and they probably didn’t even really comprehend that Pidge was leaving the house, but it was nice to pretend anyways.

Pidge always hated to go.

But, boy, did she love knowing that this is what she would come home to.

*****

“LET’S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS, TO DEFEAT THE HUNS!” Hoshi and Hikaru sang loudly along with the television. “DID THEY SEND ME DAUGHTERS, WHEN I ASKED FOR SONS?”

At this point, Hoshi frowned and stopped singing, looking up very seriously at her parents. “Now, see here, this is Shang’s problem. The war would have been finished a lot faster if they had brought in more daughters. If Mulan alone can kick so much butt, just imagine what a whole bunch more girls could have done if they were invited.”

Pidge snorted. “You’re preaching to the choir, baby girl.”

“Hoshi, don’t say ‘butt’, it’s rude,” Shiro scolded. “However, you are not wrong.”

“Can we rewind?” Hikaru asked, tugging on the sleeve of Shiro’s shirt. “I wanna start the song over.”

“Sure thing, buddy.” Shiro said, grabbing the remote.

Friday nights were movie nights in the Holt-Shirogane household. Had been long before the twins were born, long before the end of the war. It was Shiro and Pidge’s date-night staple while traveling in the Castle. Kept them sane. Still did.

Shiro wrapped his arm around Pidge’s shoulders and she leaned against him, smiling up at him as the kids sang along about being a man.

Shiro couldn’t help but smile. “Was this what it was like for you?”

“Hmph?” Pidge mumbled. “Was what was like for me?”

“Pretending to be a dude, surrounded by all of us other guys.”

Pidge scoffed slightly and gestured vaguely to the screen, as Mulan’s peaceful bath was about to be interrupted. “At least stuff like that didn’t happen. It was tough, but it was alright in the end.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Pidge looked up at him and gave him that crooked grin that made his heart jump. “After all, just like Mulan, I managed to snag the attention of a hot military leader. Married him, too.”

Hoshi made an irritated noise as she scowled at her parents over her shoulder. “Spoilers!”

“You’ve seen this one a dozen times,” Pidge said, running her hand gently over her daughter’s long, silky black hair.

“It is the principle of the thing,” Hoshi huffed, then turned back to the film.

Shiro and Pidge both chuckled at that.

Shiro gently tapped Pidge’s arm and she looked at him quizzically. “Hey, Pidge?”

“Yeah?”

He grinned at her. “You fight good.”

Her face broke out into a grin. “You fight good, too. For a boy.”

Chuckling, he leaned over and pressed a peck to her lips, settling in to watch the rest of the movie.

Shiro was so glad he had found a girl worth fighting for.

*****

Shiro loved the weekends, because they meant more family time. And—now that the twins were bigger and sleeping through the night as well as entertaining themselves when they woke up—it meant lazy mornings, lying in bed and cuddling with Pidge.

Early morning light crept in through the window, falling on Chewie’s fur where he laid at Shiro and Pidge’s feet, the dog snoring slightly. There was the distant sound of the kids’ cartoons from the living room, and birds singing. The fan above them spun in slow, sluggish circles.

And Pidge was pressed up against him, warm and snug, her fingers lazily going over a scar on his chest. He had his hand on her hip, brushing his thumb back and forth over the bone. Her chestnut hair was spread out everywhere, the few gray hairs she had blending in with the white of their sheets.

“I love this,” Pidge whispered in the silence. “Love lying here with you. Love listening to your heart, love sharing your warmth…”

“Funny, you don’t seem to like that idea when you steal all the covers at three A.M.”

She kicked him in leg. “Shut up, I’m trying to be romantic and crap. Why did I marry you again?”

“Because you _love_ me.”

“Oh, quiznak, that’s right.” Pidge stretched slightly, yawning, then crawled on top of Shiro, resting her arms over his chest and her chin on her folded hands. “I do love you. I love you oh so very much.”

“Glad to hear it,” Shiro told her, reaching up to brush a lock of hair out of her face. “Because I love you oh so very much.”

Pidge smiled, and leaned forward to press a small kiss to his lips. She reached up to brush back some of his own hair. “I can’t get over this. How lucky I am to have you. I’ve come home to you being elbow-deep in dirty diapers or wearing a tiara for a tea party or trying hard not to burn dinner but ultimately succeeding in burning dinner, and every time I just can’t stop thinking about how handsome you are, and how much I love you and all that you do, and how much I just love this, just being here with you, going through life with you.”

Shiro’s grin grew as he pulled Pidge towards him. “Funny,” He said. “I think the exact same thing every time that I look at you.”

He kissed her as deeply and passionately and happily as he had the day he proposed to her, the day he married her, the day they learned they were going to be parents, the day they became parents, and all the happy days in between.

“Ewwwwww!”

Shiro and Pidge both turned to look at the doorway, where Hoshi stood in her Hello Kitty nightgown, her long black hair hanging around her, her little nose scrunched.

“Don’t come in here, Hikaru!” She called down the hall. “Mommy and Daddy are _kissing_!”

“EWWWWWWWW!” The twins yelled in unison, mixed with the sound of Hoshi’s feet thundering down the hall, Chewie chasing after her.

There was a brief second of silence after, then Hikaru called, “Daddy? When you and Mommy are done being gross, will you make pancakes?”

Shiro glanced at Pidge, and they both started laughing.

Shiro loved the lazy weekends. 

But he loved any morning he woke up beside Pidge.

*****

“Grandpa! Grandpa! Look!”

Takashi set down the plate of sliced tomato and lettuce before turning and smiling, holding out his arms for Midori, who leapt into his arms, clutching a toy space-ship. She practically shoved it in his face. “Look!”

“I see,” Takashi said, laughing, settling his granddaughter onto his hip. “My, what a fine vessel you have here… You are the captain, I presume? Where are you and your crew going to go?”

“Everywhere!” Midori said, grinning, revealing holes where she had lost baby teeth. “More planets than even Voltron has been to!”

“My goodness, that’s a lot,” Takashi said. “I hope you have a good crew.”

“Yep!” Midori affirmed. “I’m captain and pilot, Leo is my co-pilot, and Titania is my engineer, and Kosuke is our commune—comuh—” She frowned and huffed with as much frustration as a six year old could. “He’s our walkie-talkie guy!”

“The most excellent crew combination I’ve ever heard,” Takashi told her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Sounds like you have everything you need, and the best team you could ever ask for.”

Midori nodded proudly, but then glanced over to where her cousins and brother were playing in the yard, the boys wrestling and yelling while Titania was simultaneously supporting her brother while telling her cousin to kick her brother’s butt.

Midori glanced back at Shiro and gave him a serious look. “But, Grandpa… They need work. Lots of it.”

Takashi laughed and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Don’t worry. You’ve got what it takes to whip them into shape.”

Midori blinked. “Whip them into shape… I can do that, Grandpa!”

Takashi placed her on the ground. “Then go and be great, my darling.”

Midori ran off, giggling. Takashi chuckled, watching her go. He felt a pair of slender arms wrap around his waist.

“What was all that about?” Katie asked.

“Our grandchildren are apparently going to be the greatest crew the universe has ever seen, led by Midori,” Takashi said, placing his hands over hers. “But she needs to get them to act like a team first.”

“Hmm, sounds familiar,” Katie said, moving so that she was at his side. She brushed back a stray lock of her gray hair, smiling. “Can you believe it? Forty years ago, Zarkon’s reign finally ended for good. We’ve had forty years of peace.”

“Forty years ago I asked you to marry me,” Takashi mused. 

“Forty years ago, I said yes.”

“I don’t think I can speak for the entire universe, but I think these have been the best forty years ever.”

“Well,” Katie smiled up at him. “I can’t speak for the entire universe, either, but I feel the exact same way.”

Takashi smiled and leaned down to kiss her.

They had been together for forty-five years, more or less. They had gone through so many good things and so many horrific things. But they made it through, together, their hearts still as swollen with love no matter what.

And they lived happily ever after…


End file.
